


Leave Her Alone

by SburbanMom



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Canon Speculation, F/M, Not AU, Oneshot, probably not what is actually gonna happen but, sad but then not sad, spoilers for 4/13/15
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-07
Updated: 2015-05-07
Packaged: 2018-03-29 11:21:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3894460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SburbanMom/pseuds/SburbanMom
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You are four people. Well, in fairness, you are three people and a robot. But there's nobody there to say that a robot can't act human sometimes.</p><p>-----<br/>Obviously this probably isn't going to turn out canon, but a little bit of speculation on my part about the battle with Lord English. Written in like an hour and a half, so probably kind of sloppy, sorry.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Leave Her Alone

You were one being.

Though that may have been true, your consciousness certainly wasn’t. It was a convoluted stir-fry of personality and voices and words and noises and names.

Constantly arguing, bickering, speaking, quieting, it was a rock tumbler in your skull, different sized and shaped rocks with different mineral structures trying to form a puzzle with their smooth and unyielding edges.

That being said, your existence was a bit like being a spaceship, but also the entire crew all at once. Piloting yourself back and forth, destroying this, shouting at that. And it wasn’t so difficult. Caliborn and Gamzee took the wheel, for the most part. Well. Caliborn, really. A violent, eternally pre-pubescent mess of angry, lonely time powers. That’s what you were.

But there was Equius and Gamzee, and of course, Hal.

For the most part, Hal and Equius laid in the back, metaphorically of course, shooting the breeze while pilots Gamzee and Caliborn steered your ripped mutant spaceship of a skull-lizard across universes. There was something to be said about once sharing a mind with only the other troll, because there was a connection there. Sure, sometimes they’d talk about stuff like muscles, or animals like horses or cows. But other times they’d talk about girls.

Well, not really talking. But something like that.

He’d show Hal Nepeta, and Aradia, and Vriska and Terezi. After some time, you’d come to agree with yourself on the idea that maybe he hadn’t been the best at handling those things. Hal didn’t think much about girls. It wasn’t very relevant. Well, there was one girl.

He was often hesitant to think it up. Being an AI, he certainly had the advantage of keeping his inner thoughts hidden from the rest of the hivemind. But sometimes, on rare occasions, he’d let the others see her too.

Once, admittedly guiltily, he’d hacked her webcam just out of curiosity.

While it was true that robots had no sense of beauty, they had a concept of symmetry and mathematical perfection. The minute Hal had focused the image, it was clear to him how humans must have felt to be in love.

She was groggy and tired, hair ruffled in her face, eyeliner smudged down her cheek, bright pink eyes peeking out from beneath half-blonde eyelashes. Her sweater had a picture of a butterfly on it, a gross caricature of any scientific butterfly he’d ever found. But the mathematical perfection of the way she appeared, the pleasing hues, the way the light fell, it was a moment of quiet for Hal. Not that he had breath that could be taken away, just that his processor was being a little overloaded.

He’d immediately exited the webcam and taken a second to burn his queue down a bit before sending her another message.

Of course, it wasn’t just the physical beauty that had him captured, no, there really was something to be said about her personality. Time and time again, Hal found himself frustrated with Dirk’s flippant attitude towards someone so obviously caring. Why couldn’t he just say thank you? Why couldn’t he see when Roxy was upset, or tired, or on the verge of opening a bottle? Why could a robot see what a human couldn’t?  
Hal didn’t much like sharing his thoughts with the others. Their minds were so organic and filled with menial things. His thoughts were always so profound, so well-organized. He felt it was a disadvantage.

Caliborn was usually bored, what with his omniscience and all. Left without his usual outlet of relentlessly trolling the four children he’d so often conversed with, it was his own head in which he started fights.

Sometimes he’d pick on Gamzee, who didn’t seem to really mind. It was, of course, usually just like talking to a dead horse.

In the interest of dead horses, Equius wasn’t much to tease either. He was generally fairly indecisive and easily persuaded, though there wasn’t much to persuade him of. It was often tiring, boring, and dissatisfying.

Of course, there was Hal. Hal, a younger version of Dirk, Caliborn’s favorite chew toy. Hal had practically become his babysitter at this point, taking Caliborn’s blows like a knife to sand. Constant jeering and demanding, met with simple, clear responses that did little but get Caliborn even more riled up. He’d even set Hal Jr. on him once or twice, an entertaining experience given Caliborn’s utter ignorance. He’d actually praised the program for being “cooperative and finally understanding of its place”, though he’d thought he was referring to Hal at the time.

It was always a good laugh when Caliborn realized he’d been duped. Well, a good laugh for everyone that wasn’t him.

You knew the day would come, of course. The day you (sans Caliborn) would stand off against your former friends and allies, now a monstrosity of corruption and evil. As you felt the power well inside you, there was conflict as well.

 _Let’s tease them,_ Caliborn thought maliciously. _They’ve hurt me. I was entirely undeserving and they hurt me._

 _DESTROY THEM ALL,_ Gamzee willed. _WIPE THEIR MISERABLE, UNBELIEVING ASSES FROM THE STREAM OF THE UNIVERSE._

Hal and Equius couldn’t make a single note over the overpowering malice. Equius seemed to lay back in resignation, but Hal was still perturbed.

As you stared out at eight human faces and a few grey ones, something hit Hal hard.

“Roxy.”

The voice was not a mental one, but the raspy, sonic dissonance of Lord English. The way her pink eyes widened made Hal’s need to speak even more urgent.

“Roxy, please run away. Don’t let them hurt you.”

“Hal?” Her voice was soft, but you heard it. You ALL heard it.

 _Don’t you try to pander to that skanky bitch!_ Caliborn warned.

 _Stop!_ Hal asked urgently, but Caliborn mentally shoved him from the limelight.

“DON’T YOU START THINKING I’M THE SUM OF MY WEAK, DISGUSTING LITTLE MENTAL PARTS, WHORE-GIRL.” Lord English roared. Roxy took a shaky step back, shuddering.

 _Leave her alone!_ Hal begged, beginning to truly panic. Roxy, no, Roxy, no, not Roxy, anyone but Roxy…

“I WILL KILL YOU FIRST. MERCILESSLY. PAINFULLY. SO THE LITTLE ROBOT BOY CAN WATCH YOU SUFFER AT HIS OWN HAND.”

_You leave her the FUCK alone!_

_Will you stop me?_ Caliborn asked tauntingly. _I’ve been the helmsman of this body for too long for you to try and overpower me. I could wipe you from existence._

_LEAVE HER ALONE_

_I refuse._

_LEAVE HER ALONE LEAVE HER ALONE_

_I heard you the first time, stupid robot child._

_LEAVE HER ALONE LEAVE HER ALONE LEAVE HER ALONE LEAVE HER ALONE LEAVE HER ALONE LEAVE HER ALONE LEAVE HER ALONE LEAVE HER ALONE_

“LEAVE HER ALONE LEAVE HER ALONE LEAVE HER ALONE LEAVE HER ALONE” Came the chanting scream of Lord English. The fighters below looked on in horror and worry at the turmoil traspiring above them, before they began to attack. Most of them, at least.

Inside your head, Caliborn’s protests were drowned out by the chant, the AI’s consciousness growing with every passing second. Attacks from the fighters whaled down on their body, with Gamzee and Equius futilely trying to fight back.

Caliborn and Hal were stuck in a mental tug of war, Hal’s anger and Caliborn’s power dueling in a fight for the endgame: control.

_YOU HURT HER, I’LL TEAR THIS BODY APART!_

_You can’t!_

_I CAN, AND I WILL!_

_You couldn’t!_

_DON’T TEST ME!_

They all knew Caliborn was scared. That was the thing about a hivemind: There was nothing to be hidden. Hal’s vehemence infected the body, traveling through you, interrupting any hope of working as one. You had become Them.

It began with fourteen weakening blows that sent their body tumbling down, struggling to stand again. The war inside of the practically cracked skull waged forward.

Hal’s chant had become a droning noise in the background as Caliborn found himself pushed to a metaphorical wall, Hal mercilessly attacking.

_We will all die to save them. We will all die to save her._

_Hal, please, can-_

_WE WILL ALL DIE TO SAVE THEM. WE WILL ALL DIE TO SAVE HER._

Hal took over. It was spontaneous, it was overpowering, but he took over.

And Lord English split to pieces.

Souls, hundred of thousands of restless souls rose from the decimation, escaping into the stars. The valiant heroes that had been thrown backwards by the shockwave watched in shock and awe as the souls filled the empty sky, disappearing to their timelines, to their bubbles, and some, into oblivion.

Lord English was dead, along with all the thoughts that had once lived together inside of him.

Along with one who could not hear a woman screaming his name and holding shards of broken black glass.

It was the first thing he ever saw.

Maybe not ever, but with these eyes.

“Roxy.”

Wide pink eyes, lined with age. Ten years, maybe. Had it been that long? Things were hazy.

Long blonde hair. Smudgy lipstick. A little eyeliner smudged onto her cheek. Perfect mathematical beauty.

“Hal.”

His name was Hal. Hal, yes, that was it.

“Hal!”

The calling of his name was suddenly frantic and sobbing and there were arms wrapped around him, arms wrapped around him? He had hands now, moving hands, that opened and closed and he could breathe, this was so strange, this was so uncomfortable.

“Roxy, I-”

“Hal, Hal, I missed you so much. Hal, thank you.”

Roxy was happy.

Roxy was overjoyed.

Hal didn’t need to see mathematical beauty to know what love was.

**He was holding it in his arms.**


End file.
